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19-year-old Jakub Mensik to face Novak Djokovic in Miami Open final

   

The Czech teenager shocked No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz in a three-set semifinal.

Jakub Mensik soared into his first Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open on Friday, shocking Taylor Fritz, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) to book a championship clash with Novak Djokovic.

Only the 19-year-old from the Czech Republic stands between Djokovic and his quest for a 100th ATP title, and has proven to be stiff competition for the world’s best players after knocking out the No. 3-seeded Fritz in two hours and 25 minutes at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Fritz and Mensik had faced off just once before, with the former winning their 2023 US Open encounter in three quick sets, but the latter has shown off vast improvements this week in Miami, grounding BNP Paribas Open champion Jack Draper in the second round and making relatively quick work of No. 17 seed Arthur Fils in the quarterfinals.

Fritz dealt with a tough draw of his own, navigating a third-round meeting with No. 27 seed Denis Shapovalov and No. 29 seed Matteo Berrettini, defeating the Italian in three close sets to set up the semifinal with Mensik.

Both men gamely defended their serves in the opening set, neither managing a break point through the first 12 games, but it was Mensik who took control in the ensuing tiebreaker, twice earning mini-break leads before serving it out in just under an hour.

Fritz turned the tables to start the second, engineering the only break points of the set to break in the opening game and hold on to force a decider.

The third set saw Fritz, who had to serve second, under fire as early as the third game; the 27-year-old dug out of a 15-40 deficit and held firm as scoreboard pressure continued to build.

Mensik held to love for 5-4 but Fritz won a thrilling rally two points from defeat. Undeterred, Mensik, who struck 21 aces to beat Draper earlier in the week, upper his total to 24 as he again moved within one game of victory.

Twice more forced within two points of defeat for a second time, Fritz rose to the challenge once more, stretching Mensik out wide to force an error. Mensik narrowly missed a backhand up the line and the match went to a decisive tiebreaker.

Much like the first set, Mensik nabbed the first mini-break but another backhand miss brought the Sudden Death back on level terms by the change of ends.

Two lengthy rallies ultimately decided the match: up 5-4, Mensik outlasted Fritz on both to edge over the finish line and book his first Masters final and his second meeting with Djokovic. His last match against the 24-time Grand Slam champion went the distance, but Djokovic emerged victorious in three sets last fall at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

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